What is NFC?

NFC stands for Near Field Communication. It is a short-range wireless technology that allows for data exchange between devices. This exchange of data happens by the devices being held close together, usually touching or within a few centimeters. Essentially, you ‘tap’ a device or tag to initiate an action or share data between the devices. Tags, bracelets, and other tap medium contain a small chip inside that enables this interaction.

Tap a phone or other compatible device to a tag to seamlessly initiate an action or share information between the devices. Tags, bracelets, and other tap medium contain a small chip inside that enables this interaction.

How is it used in today’s world?

NFC technology is utilized in various ways in today's world:

• Contactless mobile payments — You’ll see the ability to ‘Tap to Pay’ almost anywhere.

• Access Control – NFC tags can be used to identify someone and grant access to restricted areas, such as scanning a name badge.

• Digital Business Cards – Store business or personal information that can be accessed with a tap.

• Task automation – Connect to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, enjoy a playlist of favorite music, or quickly begin streaming music or video.

How could it be used in my church?

NFC can be creatively used in church settings to enhance the experience of members and guests:

• Provide tap access to campus maps, welcome messages, newsletters, and more.

• Share bulletins, programs, or inserts digitally.

• Enable donations and pledges through a simple tap.

• Share a list of upcoming events or sign-up forms for volunteering.

• Offer digital sign-in forms, surveys, Bible verses, worship streaming, and links to important messages.

How secure is this technology?

You may have some questions about data collection, security, or privacy issues where near field communication is concerned. We recommend consulting your IT professional, but can offer these general guidelines. For general use. NFC is fairly secure, especially for payments, since companies implement multiple layers of security. However, like any wireless technology, it's not 100% immune to attacks, so taking precautions is always a good idea.

• One security advantage is that NFC works in a relatively short range, within a few centimeters (typically 4 cm or less), which makes it difficult for attackers to intercept signals remotely. While attackers can try to increase the range in certain settings, short range reduces the risk of unauthorized access compared to other wireless technologies like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

• Many transactions made with NFC, especially for mobile payments (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay), use biometric encryption and/or tokens to protect sensitive data.

• You can further protect your audiences by purchasing supplies containing NFC chips from reputable suppliers AND ensuring that the content your tag references is published to secure websites, indicated by "https://" at the beginning of each URL. Content stored on websites built using Refresh Websites meet these criteria.

How do I get started?

To begin using Tap technology in your church, follow these steps:

1. Purchase NFC tags that are compatible with both Android and Apple devices and set them up using a compatible app. We recommend Tap Tag.¹

2. Plan the content for your tags and consider including a QR code for older phones without NFC capabilities.

3. Set up and transfer information to the tag using an NFC app, then communicate the availability and usage of this technology to your church members.

4. Test your tags prior to launch to ensure that NFC-enabled phones can tap the tag to activate commands or view content.

For detailed instructions and additional information, refer to the resources provided or conduct a search for NFC-enabled phones to find compatible devices.

Recommendations from our experts

We're not going to lie...we've had a little fun experimenting with Tap to....well whatever! We'd love to explain the "why" behind our recommendations.

• Selecting suppliers – You can purchase blank supplies from Amazon and customize them using an app like NFC Tools, which also provides purchase recommendations. However, we recommend purchasing tags from a reputable supplier, such as Tap Tag, out of New York. Tap Tag carries a wide range of products and can also handle design and printing. Perhaps most exciting is that when purchasing via Tap Tag, you can easily change where your items point to. For example, if you have 20 tap items across your campus pointing to a single web address, you can use their portal to mass change the web address for all devices at once. Easy peasy, right?

• Providing hints/tips for first time tappers – Many people will recognize and know how to use NFC technology. Still, it doesn't hurt to assist those that may not be sure about this new technology. Signs with simple messages such as "Tap Your Phone to Pay", or "Tap to View Today's Bulletin" can assist those who may not be quite sure how to use them. Initially, you may want to post helpers (like the youth group) near tags to assist guests in using the technology. Depending on your audience, you may consider providing quick training in or how-to video on your website, or communicating via email.

• Planning for non-compliant devices – While most phones have a built-in feature for NFC, some older phones may not. To avoid any challenges or poor experiences, you can include a QR code on the image you create for the tap device. QR codes have been around for a while and are recognizable. As part of our Innovation Lab, ACST has a free QR code generator available at https://qr.kingdomcreations.ai/. Use the generator to create a QR code you can place alongside your logo and/or instructions that say to tap or scan. Since this is part of our pilot program, feel free to leave our developer some fast feedback. Learn more about our non-managed and managed QR code generator.

What are NFC-enabled devices?

Because of the simplicity and convenience of this technology, not to mention cost savings and sustainability advantages, the list of NFC-enabled smart devices expands daily. The list of devices includes smart watches, payment terminals and point of sale systems, access control systems used for secure entry into buildings and offices, smartwatches and wearable devices, smart home devices, public transit systems, and smartphones.

Most modern Android phones are NFC-enabled. To see if your phone has NFC, go to your phone's settings and search for NFC. Be sure it's enabled. To scan NFC tags, tap the center back of your phone.

All iPhones using iOS 14 or newer can automatically read all kinds of NFC tags without the need to enable NFC or download third-party apps, including but not being limited to web addresses (URLs), emails, phone numbers, and SMS messages. Just tap the iPhone to an NFC-enabled device, or hold the top back of your iPhone close to the NFC tag. The iPhone reads the NFC tag and displays a notification on its screen.